With the development of communication technologies, a new mobile search technology emerges which combines two hot fields in search engine and in mobile communication. This mobile search technology allows a mobile service operator to provide value-added mobile search service to mobile subscribers by providing a more precise search capability with customized search service to each of the mobile subscribers according what they search for.
A mobile search framework is based on a meta-search platform, which integrates capabilities from many professional/vertical search engines to provide a brand-new and comprehensive search platform for mobile subscribers. Within the mobile search framework, each mobile service operator has its own Mobile Search Server (MSS) which administrates one or more member engines. A member engine is a search engine within the mobile service operator, which provides a real mobile search service for mobile subscribers. Each member engine is generally described with a meta-index, which includes information for describing the characteristics of the member engine. The member engines administrated by the MSS of different mobile service operators may be different, although the same member engine may be registered with MSS from different mobile operators. In other words, a mobile operator provides mobile search service to mobile subscribers through its one or more member engines administrated by its MSS.
The current Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) standard defines an interconnection interface (i.e., MSF-4 interface) between MSS of different mobile operators within a mobile search framework. The interconnection interface includes an interface for exchanging a meta-index between an MSS and a Foreign MSS (a search server of another operator), and another interface for searching for a response result from a sent request.
The prior art has at least the following disadvantages:
The current OMA, however, does not provide a technical design solution in how to specifically implement the exchanging of meta-search between an MSS and a Foreign MSS through the MSF-4 interface. In addition, the current OMA also does not suggest how to realize the interconnection between MSS of different mobile operators. An example of such interoperability issue may be illustrated by the interconnection problems between an MSS of China Mobile and an MSS of China Telecom.